Welcome to the World Baby.....

GIRL!!!!!

Oh how precious and wonderful and sweet and exciting!!!! We're thrilled. God is so good to us! 

At my check up Tuesday, my doctor strongly suggested we go ahead and schedule an induction for Friday (today). T and I were a little shocked, but after hearing the doctors reasons, and after considering how far I'd already progressed, we were in agreement. (I had a small "complication" after little man was born and the doc felt inducing would reduce the risk of a recurrence... 'nough said.) Soo....the fam headed our way...T and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30am this morning and were admitted. 

The doc broke my water at 6:45am, started pitocin at 8am, by 9 I was at 6cm. At about 11 the nurse came in and upon seeing little bits head crowning, called for the doc. He was dressed and ready by 11:44 and she made her grand entrance at 11:52. It was crazy and so much fun!!!! Again, God is so good!

Little Bit and I are both doing great. She weighed 7lb 12oz and was 21" long! Yahoo!!!

MW is BESIDE herself with excitement!!! She is THRILLED!!! In awe! She just stared and stared and stared and rubbed MC's cheek and touched her sweet little face. It's been a delightful morning filled with God's goodness and mercies!

The little man is in a bit of shock. He held her for quite a long spell and just stared. And he's had a lot of fun pushing buttons on the hospital bed.

As Mama said, "It's a wonderful life."

Welcome to the world baby girl! We love you so much and are thrilled you are here! You are precious and we love you dearly! May God already be at work in your heart, drawing you to Himself. May you love Him deeply and may you walk with Him all the days of your life. Precious, precious, precious little one! Oh how our hearts are bursting with love for you!

Cookie...

This is T filling in as guest blogger for this post. J and I are in Labor and Delivery waiting on pitocin to get some real labor going (that will be for another post). We figured that everyone would want an update on the MW and Cookie incident.

First of all, thank you all for your prayers for our little girl. We really did not know how she would react and it was a great comfort to know of the many prayers said for her. She made us incredibly proud. J tearfully woke up MW and told her the sad news. MW processed most of her grief in silence as she and J went to look at the grave.  Some slow tears started when she looked at the little grave and she decided that Scout had "heart attacked" Cookie. She and J then made a search of the house perimeter to see if there were any holes through which Scout could have escaped from the house (which of course there weren't, but J did tell MW that both she and I had let Scout out for a little while during the night and morning). MW asked if she could get another kitten. We'd discussed this option and decided she'd shown herself responsible and had earned that privilege, and so the answer was "of course." 

MW spent the morning with a pretend kitten in her Easter basket, along with a mitten and a chalk egg - which she insisted was an imaginary "ball of yarn" and spent the better part of the day carrying it around...stroking the kitten...in a rather melancholy mood. Later in the day she laid next to Scout on the kitchen floor and said, "Scout I know you were just trying to play with Cookie when you heart attacked her, but you've got to be more kind to animals." Several times during the day, MW took a play kitten and cat food up in the playhouse where she could be alone and see Cookie's grave. Late in the afternoon J was out there with her and MW very seriously said, "Mom, I think it's time to put this behind us and move on." She hasn't said much about Cookie since. However, that afternoon she decided she really wants a puppy instead of a kitten (thank goodness).

MW showed very focused determination about catching that cat. We haven't seen anything quite like that in her before. Her maturity and understanding of responsibility seem to have taken a leap ahead just from the few days that she took care of Cookie. Something about that cat brought out some really good qualities in MW (I'm glad God knows what He is doing, because a pet cat would be the absolute last thing I would chose to help my daughter mature). I'm really proud of MW.

Grace

I am learning about grace.

Grace not to judge.

Grace to hold my tongue. 

Grace...to forgive and move on. 

Grace.

And this morning...I cannot stop the tears.

Saturday a baby kitten found its way onto the fence between our yard and our neighbor's yard. That kitten wouldn't let me near it...but MW proceeded to spend the next seven, yes, seven, hours wooing that kitten. By 10:30 that night, the kitten was putty in her arms. She asked if she could keep her...and again, grace...T and I hate cats. Can't stand them. But man, we love our little girl. We were so proud of her. Was there even a question? "Yes, you can keep her. But she has to stay outside." And so, for the past several days MW has spent every waking moment outside caring for "Cookie." She has been solely responsible for the kitten...for feeding and watering, etc. T and I have been amazed and awed as we've looked on. MW seems to have a special way with Cookie. She is the only one who was able to coax Cookie out of hiding...

They've spent hours together in the "tree house." MW has cradled her as they've swung in the swings. She has had more fun with that kitten.

Grace. I hate cats and I've passed judgement as I've watched friends cave to their children's pleas for a kitten. Grace. I did it. I won't be so quick to judge in the future. 

This morning, as T backed out of the driveway to leave for work, he spotted what he thought was a pile of leaves by our back door. A closer look revealed four little white paws. T said his heart absolutely sank. I am sick at my stomach. He came in to tell me and I cried so hard. Not about Cookie, really, but about the heart break my precious little girl is about to experience. Being a mom is so hard. Having children is so hard. Seeing your children hurt...is crushing.

I know her heart is going to be crushed. I am dreading having to tell her. And at the same time, I have this urge to bolt upstairs and gather her in my arms and tell her right now. But I'm not going to. I'm going to let her sleep a little longer.

We weighed our options and decided (live and learn) we had no choice but to tell her the truth. At a little before 6am, T knocked on our neighbor's door and asked permission to bury Cookie in her backyard (for fear Scout might dig in our yard...), and sweet Caroline told us to bury her wherever we wanted to. T picked a spot MW will be able to see from her "tree house" and marked the spot with two bricks. He told me he was really careful with her and buried her little body curled up, just like she liked to do in MW's lap.

I am so sad. My heart hurts so bad because I know how bad MW's heart is going to hurt. Like...it's breaking. I feel like I might throw up. (I wonder how I'd handle this if I wasn't almost 39 weeks preg.)

And then grace again. I didn't get a post up on MW's birthday. My mom worked so hard to keep everything even. And I pushed for it, too. (My wickedly sinful heart!) I posted on T3's birthday...and on T's birthday. This year, it was all I could do to pull off a birthday party for MW on her birthday...I was so exhausted after the party, that I didn't even touch the dishes. Chips and confetti carpeted the dining room floor until last night. (That is NOT like me.) Grace, grace, grace. I wonder, will MW feel less loved because I didn't do a birthday post for her on her birthday? Oh I hope not. I love that little girl with all my heart! Grace, grace, grace. Please. Grace.

With a third little one due so soon, I've been driven by this fear that if I don't get some things done now, it will be years before I'll get to do them. Hence my lack of blogging over the last few weeks. I made a giant "to do" list and have been diligently working to accomplish each task. I'm nearly there. 

This incident with the kitten has snapped me back to reality, in a sense. All of the sudden the "to do" list just isn't so important. I'm far more consumed with my little girl's heart and loving her well during this time. All of the sudden, I don't really care if I get that table or bookshelf painted. I just want to love and live and enjoy these days with my children and husband.

So...grace. I'm learning a lot about grace. 

And oh, God, please, please, please give me wisdom as I tell MW about Cookie. Please prepare her heart...ease her pain and help me to love her well.

Oh NO!

I just realized...I smocked a gown for both MW and T3 to wear home from the hospital...I haven't smocked squat for this little one. Ugh. 

"They" say it's different with number three..."they" are right. 

How did I let this slip up on me??? 

Fabulous. 

It's Official

It's 12:21am. 

I can't sleep.

All I can think about is that my hospital bag isn't packed.

So I'm up packing.

And making a list of "last minute grab items."

I think I'm officially nesting.

PS - Andi, I thought of you when I spotted T3's "mark" on our fridge...

Da Belly...

Well...the whole family first.

Ok...you asked for it...

and here it is...

a few attempts at getting a good belly shot with the kids...

at roughly 35 weeks...

(thank you, Lyndsay!)

And a few shots of the kiddos...

This little man was ready to take on the ocean.

As in...fearless. 

T says he's a hazard to himself. hee hee.

He had a grand time throwing sand and other paraphernalia... 

And this little girl did a lot of quiet thinking and 

staring out into the deep blue...

She sure does love her daddy.

She also did a lot of running...

Up and down the beach.

And she even made up a song and ran down the beach singing praises to God, and twirling in the sand with her arms upraised. She's pretty amazing.

They both are!

Husbands...

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies...each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself...(taken from Ephesians 5)

Can I tell you the profound awe and mystery and respect and adoration that is spilling from my heart for my husband? 

We spent last week at the beach with his family...grandparents, great grandparents, cousins, etc. (more on that in another post)

We headed home Sunday morning. Sunday morning...and all day Sunday...and lots more since then...I've been having Braxton Hicks...Tuesday I went for a scheduled apt. and learned I am 1cm...EEK!!! Yeah, I know, I can stay like that for weeks. I walked around for nearly two weeks at 3 to 3.5cm with MW...but still...it means the time is nearing!

Tuesday night I felt nauseated. I've been feeling this way a lot lately. I figured it was just baby. 

I woke around 3:30 sweating...but I've done that every night for the last few months...but this time the nausea was overwhelming.

I woke T and had him get me a zofran. 

Shortly thereafter, I grabbed the trash can he'd so sweetly thought to put beside our bed and made a dash for the toilet...

And he came. My Knight In Shining Armor came for me. He held my hair back and wiped my face between, uh-hum, you know...he stood and knelt beside me while I puked my brains out. It took a while.

Then he poured me mouthwash...and wiped down and disinfected the bathroom...and cleaned up that nasty mess. 

He brought the trash can back to my bedside...and he let me sleep until I woke on my own. 

He got up with the children and dressed them and made them muffins for breakfast. He took MW to VBS. He worked in the yard and had the little man keep him company...he even cleaned up the messes they (he and the kiddos) made...

All this week, even before I got sick, he's laid down his life for mine. He's carried the heavy things. He's bathed the children...'cause my back is tired and aches...and he remembered that from my pregnancy with T3. He vacuumed out my car...

Last night on his way to work he dropped me and the kids off at the mechanic's to pick up my car...we'd had a little work done on it...about the time we pulled into the parking lot the rain was POURING down...he INSISTED on strapping in the carseat and loading the little man. T got SOAKED. There he was in his uniform, in his starched button down...drenched.

In the last few days I have seen my husband lay down his life for mine in really amazing ways...I have seen him love me as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. What a precious thing. What a blessing. What a wonderful man! And how blessed I am.

Gettin' Ready

Since I haven't taken the time to download the five hundred pics I shot while we were away at the beach...

I thought I'd send you over to my sister's blog. She shared a cool bit of encouragement today.

And on another note...the Braxton Hicks (oh, please let that be all this is!!!!) have been drawing my attention quite frequently for the last day or so. 

And I noticed as I browsed the Winn Dixie ad that certain sale prices are "locked in" through July 4th...that would be this baby's due date. 

YIKES.

I'm not ready. I have a few more things I'd like to do.