Oh, all kinds of things...

Where do I even start?! We have so much to catch up on....

The Ukrainian Hunts are here!! We are so thrilled to have Joelie's parents here with us for the next month to love on these babies. We have had such a great time already and promise to take more pictures of the new grandparents soon!

We had a great time at the shower thrown for us by dear New Song friends. Of course I forgot to take one single picture! We'll just have to do it the old fashioned way and remember it with images saved in our memory....good friends, cutest house with lavender by the front steps and a big garden in the back, a backyard party with the yummiest foods and punch (have I ever mentioned my absolute love for punch?!), wonderful gifts of Haba toys and other such loveliness...thank you so much friends!

The babies are doing great. At their last doctor's appt. Amelia weighed in at a whopping 7lbs 4oz. and Sam at 5lbs 14 oz. They love to be in their slings and spend most of their days eating, sleeping, and "slinging"....:) I think I'll do a post soon about the things (such as slings) that have been absolutely essential in these first few weeks at home with the babes. The first thing on the list, of course, would be my mama. She has to leave us on Monday and I have minor breakdowns just thinking about it. Emotionally and physically she has been our hero...tirelessly serving us from the moment her plane landed on April 8th, the morning after my water broke. I will forever treasure these months spent with her...thank you sweet mom for the laughing,dish washing, clothes washing, post c-section serving, errand running,NICU visiting, house packing, house unpacking, baby holding/changing/washing/loving, early morning rising, encouraging mom that you are. How could I ever thank you enough?

Yesterday was Amelia and Sam's due date.Crazy, isn't it? In some ways it is easy to think of our time in the NICU as a blur, a bad dream that ended when we got them both home. Yet, it is part of our journey...part of our love story as Mrs. Peltier put it.So, I choose to look at those pictures, as hard as it is, to remember what a gift we have. What a gift each day is with these little ones.....

Wonderously Blessed....

A quote from Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss describing the main character's thoughts on finding out that, once again, she was pregnant....

“I shall now have one mouth the more to fill, and two feet the more to shoe; more disturbed nights, more laborious days, and less leisure for visiting, reading, music and drawing. This is one side of the story to be sure, but I look at the other. Here is a sweet, fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God, and the body in which it dwells is worthy of all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ’s name, I make a willing sacrifice of what little leisure for my own recreation, my other darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother’s heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her life-long prayers! Oh, how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!”

Times two.

I remember reading this quote about 4 years ago for the first time and it rang so true in my heart. Though we didn't yet have children my heart fully believed in motherhood as such a worthy calling and I knew that, Lord willing, when He allowed us to have children these words would be an encouragement to me. And so they have been. Early this morning at 4 am when both babies woke up ready to eat and I couldn't quite figure out how to manage that,the gist of this quote came to my mind and I took a deep breath and did my best. About an hour later all were fed, changed, swaddled and the world was again at rest. Though there are many, many moments such as this where I feel overwhelmed and not sure what to do first, there are also moments like this afternoon when I was laying on our new,enormous bed with the babies. The windows were open, the room felt breezy and calm. I was feeding Amelia while Sammy slept and as I glanced down at her she was looking out the window behind me with the sweetest expression on her face. It was like she had seen a bird fly by and it made her happy. It made my heart glad....and thus the days go by.

Jen

A new abode and other excitement....

All is well!! I’m sorry we haven’t updated but things have been a little busy around here:) Uncle Bub and Auntie Robin came to visit on Wednesday and we moved to a most wonderful new house on Friday. We can’t get our internet connection transferred until the 28th…boo. Thankfully we live within walking distance of the library now so I can run over and update.

What a wonderful time we had with you Bub and Robin!!! What joy to see our babies with family…

Our new house is delightful. We loved our little 9th and 9th cottage but it is like moving from a cramped seat on an airplane to an overstuffed chair…ahhhh. Well, the library connection is reeeallly slow and can't seem to upload my pictures, so I'll have to try another day. The babies are both doing so well, can't wait for you to see their cute little faces again, Jen

Deliriously happy....

Yes, as I sit here holding Amelia and listening to Sam grunting in the cosleeper next to me I think deliriously happy would be the best way to describe how we are all feeling. Delirious, of course, because we are caring for two little bodies and souls that need lots of feeding, burping, changing, loving, holding, comforting...did I say feeding? It sometimes results in much hilarity. Today mom and I were laughing so hard I almost threw up. She was describing to me how I look when I come out of my room after my morning nap. Oh my. See, I am the night time parenter. Thankfully mom comes running in (seriously, she looks like she's running. She says she feels like she's late:)around 6:30am to take the morning shift so I can get some sleep. Oh, what would I do without that morning nap?! Anyway,I guess I look pretty funny when i come out from my slumber. Joel gets home from classes and immediately jumps in for his turn to love on these babies....it's a lot of work and a lot of fun.

They both had an appt. with our pediatrician today and he said they look "excellent." Amelia weighed in at 5lbs 15 oz and Sam at 5lbs 2oz. Sam has to have some hernias taken care of and has to be weaned off of his oxygen. He is just on a little whiff and should be off soon.

Amelia will need to follow up with an eye doctor to make sure her eyes have matured. That's about it for now and we are soooo thankful.

Better run for now.Typing with one hand is tricky:) Thanks again so much for all of your encouragement and prayers...they have been such a comfort to us throughout this whole journey, Jen

And just like that....

after two months in the NICU our little family is home. Together.







Psalm 30:5: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning."

First days...

Our first days home with Sammy have been full of feeding, fretting about his feedings (is he getting enough?! do you think he is hungry yet? Should we wake him to eat? yada, yada), sleeping(Sam), not sleeping(us), lots of kisses, a first doctor's visit, and much, much love. Sam likes to be in contact with us at all times--or is that us that likes to be in contact with Sam at all times?! Well, I think we are all catching up on lost snuggle time. He sleeps for good three and a half to four hour blocks (a "plus" of babies being in the NICU is that they come home on a schedule) as long as he is snuggled on or next to us. If he is in his moses basket he tends to grunt and squirm a lot more. So, we are sleeping with him and wearing him and loving every minute.Well, except the minutes that his darn oxygen alarm goes off because he is hiccuping or moving....uhhh. We are hoping he'll be off of it in a few weeks so we can move around easier and finally be free of ding, ding, dings!

Sweet Amelia is doing well-- we miss her so much and can't wait for her to come home! She is supposed to have her eyes checked again on Thursday and hopefully they'll be mature enough for her to get out of there. She is guzzling down her breastfeeds and bottles and weighs 5 lbs 6 oz! Sam is following at 4 lbs 14 oz.

Guess that's all for now. This momma is going to try to get in a little nap before the next feeding round begins. Jen

Welcome home little guy...

Right this second I smell stew cooking in the oven and have a baby boy in my arms. Life is good. More of an update soon, Jen