I survived!

Or maybe I should say Philip survived. I just got back from my first trip yesterday. It was "supposed" to be nice and easy. For the most part things went smoothly other than getting re-crewed. I enjoyed my first full night's sleep in 6 months! Philip said Sarah did well other than the fact that she wouldn't take more than 3 ounces from her bottle at a time. Both Hannah and Micah cried when I left but I think Micah took it the hardest. I left at 6:30 and when I talked to him at 9:00 he was still crying. He told me he couldn't go to sleep because he couldn't stop thinking about me....talk about break my heart. It's a hard adjustment for everyone when they've gotten used to me being home for the last 8 months. The best part of the trip? Coming home! When Sarah saw me the first time she cried. It was a weird kind of excited cry. Then she reached for me and buried her head in my chest. I didn't cry the whole time I was gone but I almost cried when she did that! Now I'm counting down the days until January when I'm off for another month!!!

42 days

I can't believe I only have 42 days left until I go back to work! Wasn't I just counting down the days until my due date? I am so thankful for the time I have been able to spend at home with Sarah. It has been so precious and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I'm praying for a smooth transition into the working world. I'm also praying that I can take a leave of absence in January and February. So I guess going back to work for one month won't kill me!

Orlando

We spent fall break in steamy Orlando this year. I think it was in the 90's every day! So we did lots of this....




Sarah loved the pool...





We also went to Universal Studio's where Hannah rode her first roller coaster. She was just tall enough and her daddy convinced her to ride this one in the background first....





I can't believe she didn't chicken out while she waited in line. She looked pretty nervous!



After she got off she was so proud of herself. Everyone that has asked if she had fun on vacation she proudly announces how she rode all of the roller coasters. She's my little daredevil. Honestly though I was a little teary eyed watching my baby girl ride all the grown up rides.

Of course they wanted to get their faces painted again this year.

Micah thoroughly enjoyed being scary. I wasn't thrilled but I figured hey it washes off. And most of it did about 30 minutes later because it was so stinkin hot.

We went to the Magic Kingdom one day where I got Sarah's picture wearing Mickey's Mouse ears.

My two favorite pictures from the whole vacation. What a cutie!





We did manage to get one decent family picture....

Walking with Dinosaurs

Last night we decided to surprise the kids and take them to Walking with Dinosaurs. The show was incredible. Needless to say Micah was more excited than Hannah. Actually at first he wasn't quite sure what to think.....

We're ready...

Tickets to the show....

Waiting for the show to start.....

Video's of the Dinosaurs....

Picasa fun

I just figured out how to make these collages with Picasa. I'm totally addicted. If you don't have Picasa download it!

Sarah's baby pictures...

Sarah with her big sis

My favorite "funny face" pictures of Sarah. All of these were taken by Lisa except one. She always makes her funny faces for her aunt Lisa!

Our Family pictures taken by Jordan

Baptism

From the time my kids were born I prayed that someday they would choose to follow Christ. On August 23rd God answered those prayers. Hannah and Micah both choose to follow Christ that night at Kid's Jamm. As a believer your next step is baptism. We do not believe in baptizing babies....both of our children were dedicated as babies which just means that we as parents were committed to raising our children according to the principles in the bible. We believe that baptism is an outward show of the decision you made in your heart. Here is good explanation that...
Romans 6:1-7 - This shows us that the mode of baptism (immersion) pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In the same way that He went through these things, our old nature is to “die” and we are to be “buried with Him through baptism into death” and raised to “walk in newness of life” (live like Jesus). So we do not just try to be a better person, we bury the “old person” in the water and become a “new person” through our acceptance of Christ. It is like a new birth and a new beginning for us.

Yesterday was an amazing day for both Philip and I. I know he was thrilled to able to baptize both Hannah and Micah....

Of course what day would be complete without a picture of my cutie pie...

Sarah's first three months

I can't believe how quickly time flies. Sarah is already almost 4 months old. She has been such a good happy baby. Her first smile was at 10 days old! It's even on video...we have proof! Don't get me wrong....she had her moments....we were up all night a few times. I have enjoyed every minute of these last three months. Every time she does something new I want to cry. It's funny how different you are as a parent from your first child to your third. With Hannah I was in such a hurry for her to do the next thing....smile, laugh, sit up, crawl, walk, etc. Poor Micah I was so busy with two kids under two I barely remember when he even did all these things. With Sarah I want to just stop time. I'm in no rush for her too grow up. This time in our lives is challenging but I'm sure not as challenging as it will be in a few years when we have two teenagers and a six year old. Here is Sarah's first three months....

4 days old

2 weeks old

3 weeks old...asleep while mommy ate dinner

4 weeks old

6 weeks old in Washington DC

7 weeks old...sweet smile

8 weeks old...checking out the cute baby in the mirror.

9 weeks old...first time in her bumbo.

10 weeks old

11 weeks old

12 weeks old...sitting in her high chair for the first time.

May 30th 2009....Sarah's Birth Day!

I guess I should start where I left off. Here I am on Sarah's due date....still pregnant! I couldn't believe it. I swore she would come early. I suppose I jinxed myself. The next morning on May 29th we were "originally" scheduled for our induction. I say originally because that morning as I was getting ready a nurse called from the hospital to say that they would have to reschedule me because they were too full. I couldn't believe it! I thought maybe I would go into labor on my own that day but no luck.

So we woke up the next morning to do it all over again. This time things went smoothly. Labor was perfect. 9 hours of labor with very little pain! Epidurals are wonderful!

Sarah Elizabeth was born at 3:55pm weighing 8lbs 13oz. Labor was easy but pushing this girl out was work! It took them 45 min to stitch me up....ouch.

Worth all the work....and all the pain that would come later after the epidural wore off.


Proud Daddy!

Big Sis for the second time!

Micah was so sweet...and so proud. He was constantly asking to hold her.

Sweet baby girl!

Here we are going home.....life as the party of five begins!