Gratitude

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - we are so very blessed.  And, we are humbled as we say thank you to all of you for your prayers and encouragement after Owen's diagnosis and birth and throughout the pregnancy and delivery of Lydia. 

We received a very special, unexpected gift today which brought tears to my eyes ~

To see Lydia's name on this tile and to be reminded of how we prayed for this little one and how God so graciously answered our prayer is overwelming.  Thank you Kaye for this incredible gift.  You all may remember Kaye from this post.  Kaye, we have not met you, but know that you have touched our lives beyond words ...

And, again, thank you to everyone who has prayed with us and for us.  You have been an encouragement.  We love you!

Two Weeks

Lydia is two weeks old today.  So, what has she been up to these past two weeks?  You know, the typical newborn stuff - eating, sleeping, pooping, spitting up and being cuddled. 

Lydia weighs 6 pounds, 15 ounces, only one ounce shy of her 7 pound birth weight.  She is currently in the 10th percentile for weight.  She is 20.5 inches long (I know, she "shrunk" from her birth length) and is in the 75th percentile for length. 

Lydia has fondly earned the nickname "Liddybug" (given to her by who else but her big brother, the bug man, Samuel).  The boys are enjoying their baby sister immensely and love to hold her, talk to her and cuddle her.

Jason and I are still, and forever will be, in awe of God's mercy and grace and are so thankful for this precious gift.  Here she is at two weeks, little Miss Liddybug.

Praying that the new year brings you health, happiness, love and many blessings.

Christmas Tradition

Yesterday marked the end to our planned Christmas celebrations as we celebrated with Jason's parents and siblings.  This Christmas was a little "different" for all of us.  We celebrated two weeks early with my family instead of our tradtional Christmas Eve get-together.  So, Jason and the boys went to Christmas Eve service and then to Jason's grandparents house.  And, after a morning of fun and tradition at our house on Christmas Day the guys headed over to Jason's parent's house. 

During these times, Lydia and I hung out at home.  And, while my heart was missing our traditional festivities, I was also moved many times gazing at Lydia ... I am in awe of God's mercy and grace ... I am in awe that He would choose us to raise this little peanut.  And, my thoughts often turned to that stable and manger as I wonder how Mary must have felt as she gazed into that precious little face of Jesus.  We know that she "treasured up all of these things in her heart" ~ what a wonderful thing and also what I am trying to do as I adjust to things being "different" this year. 

And, although yesterday we had our last planned Christmas celebration, how blessed are we to know in our hearts that our celebration of Jesus' birth and all that He has given us is to be celebrated year-round.  May you also celebrate the Gift of Christmas in your hearts year-round.

Merry Christmas, year-round, from our family to yours.

Introducing ...

We are blessed (and a little bit shocked) to announce the arrival of Lydia Collett:

Born December 18th, 2009 at 12:37 p.m.

7 Pounds, 0 Ounces
21 Inches
And, absolutely perfect!

Our love,

Jason, Heather, Jack, Samuel & Lydia

"From the fullness of His grace we have received one blessing after another."  John 1:16

The Final Countdown

Nearly nine months ago we couldn't even imagine getting to this point where "it could be any day now."  Nearly nine months ago we were filled with apprehension, and we still are, the fear of leaving the hospital empty, on so many fronts, is still real.  But, as I've said before, we have a renewed sense of hope and peace.  As we are now less than one week from our due date, so many emotions are flooding us ~ nervous excitement, some anxiety, disbelief that it's already time, sweet anticipation ... we are beside ourselves knowing that any day now this little one could enter this world and we will be able to hold him / her in our arms.

This past Sunday we were at the cemetery.  It was harder than we imagined it to be, wondering if this would be our last visit to the cemetery before baby is born.  We wonder how we will feel entering the hospital ... we wonder how we will feel being in the labor and delivery unit ... we pray that we will leave the hospital with this baby in our arms ... as so many things have been these past two years, we are sure that the coming days will be bittersweet as we welcome this little one.  We are sure that there will be tears of joy and also tears of grief as we still long to have Owen here with us.   

As I mentioned in a previous post, we know our God is sovereign and through Him we have hope.  It is with sweet anticipation that we await the arrival of this little one. 

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."  Psalms 130:5

Five

Five.  How did that happen? 

It seems like just yesterday that we were enjoying this little blondie. 

Now we are trying to keep up with this guy.

Samuel has changed and has grown up so much in this past year and especially in the last three months.  His independence has increased, a bit bittersweet to see that this little guy doesn't need us like he used to.  Like his big brother, Samuel is quite entertaining and says so many things that make us laugh and make our hearts smile.  Case in point, a conversation with the boys a couple of weeks ago:

Jack:  "Does Santa know if the baby is a boy or girl?"

Me:  "No, only God knows for sure."

Pause ...

Samuel:  "It's another boy."

Jack and I:  "How do you know?"

Samuel:  "God told me in my mind."

Oh, how we love this boy!

Samuel has a fondness for elephants and armadillos (odd, we know) and for his blankie.  He has a loving demeanor, he's goofy.  He is affectionate towards others, he has a passion for school.  And, his smile, oh his smile, it's contagious.  We thank God every day for these precious boys he's entrusted us with.

Happy Birthday, Samuel.  We love you!

  "The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."  Zephaniah 3:17 

Toothless Grin

Check out this precious, toothless grin!!!!  Another first - Samuel's first lost tooth (and only days before his 5th birthday!).  Oh, this little boy is growing up too fast!

So Blessed

Have you ever felt so blessed that it brought tears to your eyes?  Here are just a few of the countless blessings we are thanking God for these days:

for engergetic, loving boys ...
for a marriage centered in Christ's love ...
for the upcoming newest addition to our family ...
for a cozy home that will soon be bursting at the seams ...
for amazing family and friendships ...
for a crazy pup (per Jack) ...
for chicken (per Samuel) ...
for God's unbelievable mercy and grace ...

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Deck the Halls ...

In case you couldn't tell, I'm big on tradition.  One of my favorite weekends, filled with tradition, is the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Jason heads up north for the "big hunt," and the boys and I spend the weekend hanging out.   We bust out the Christmas music (okay, I admit it, our Casting Crowns Peace on Earth CD has already been out for weeks), we make some hot cider or cocoa and usually a few other goodies, we decorate the house for Christmas, we work on our Christmas ornaments, and somewhere in the weekend we watch a Christmas movie or two.  The weekend also typically entails a lunch date with mom (always the boys' choice which typically means we end up at Subway which was the case this weekend).

And, the grand finale of the weekend, welcoming Jason home to the holiday sites, smells and sounds of our home.

Hope and Peace

With less than seven weeks to go before baby enters this world, we have gotten to a place of renewed hope and peace.  It has not been easy, and we know that there are still uncertainties.  Although all signs indicate that this will be a full-term, healthy baby, we cannot be certain of the outcome.  Only God, our Father, knows the outcome.  Does He know what we want?  Does He hear us?  Does He know that we yearn for a baby to hold in our arms, a baby full of life, a baby to bring home from the hospital?  Yes, He knows.  Yes, He hears us.  Does that mean that is what He will give us?  No, that part is still uncertain.  But, we have faith and we have hope and we have peace in knowing that His decision, His direction, and His plan are what we are here for.

Getting to this point has been challenging, we have often been reminded of our pregnancy with Owen.  We never got to the point of putting up the crib.  We never got to the point of picking out an outfit to bring him home from the hospital in, instead, we were picking out an outfit to bury him in.  We never went to Target to stock up on diapers and other essentials.  There are so many things with Owen that we never got to.  And, our hearts still yearn to have Owen here.  But, that was not to be.

Only now, in the past few weeks have we found ourselves moving forward, really planning for this baby ... purchasing a new stroller and car seat, painting Samuel and the baby's room, picking up some supplies, and you know what?  It's scary, but it feels great.  It feels exciting.  We have a renewed sense of hope and peace.

Throughout this pregnancy we have heard others remark about this being our third, about what a sense of relief we must feel to be expecting again.  This is not our third.  We have three little boys.  And, this baby will never replace Owen or the love we have for him.  Our love for all of our children is deep and profound, but very separate.  Just as our love for "China Girl" is distinct and separate (yes, the boys are still referring lovingly to their one day sister as "China Girl").  A little girl that may only be a thought right now, our love for her was real when we made the decision to fill out the adoption application. 

Yes, we are moving forward.  Yes, it is still hard to understand the unfolding of events that got us to this place.  But, above all, we know that our God is sovereign and that through Him we have hope.