Surprise

We never expected to get these when Deb went to the perinatologist today.

3D ultrasound pictures of the little guy (no, he's not really missing part of his face and arm in the second one). He's 32 weeks today. Moderate anemia started appearing a few weeks ago (as expected), but hasn't gone up since then (not quite as expected, but very good). Other than that, he seems to be doing great! Thank you for your prayers.

popcorn in milk

"You can fill a glass full to the brim with milk, and fill another glass of the same size brim full of popcorn, and then you can put all the popcorn kernel by kernel into the milk, and the milk will not run over. You cannot do this with bread. Popcorn and milk are the only two things that will go into the same place."
- from "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder (page 34)

Well, guess we better try it.


It works! Now the question is, who would have bothered to figure this out? Must have been someone without TV.

3rd try for #5

19 weeks tomorrow. It's not expected to be the smoothest road, but he's doing very well so far. Thanks for your prayers.

showin' off my kids

The snowman we made Christmas Eve.
Being creative.
Being cute.
Newest cooking skills.
Wanting to be like his big brothers.
Mommy made me this skirt.
At Sunday School - no peeking during prayer time.

Christmas Pose 2009

Autumn

Here's my blog's annual picture of the kids in the leaves. Last year's was taken during Micah's nap time, so this is the first with four kids. Enjoy.

Baby Alex

Warning: This post contains some sad news. You may want to read it later. If you know us well, I'm sure you've already heard.

We said hello and goodbye to a second baby on August 20th. Alex made it to about 15 weeks before passing early on to be with the Lord. This baby will be just as dearly missed as his slightly older sibling.

This little one also had his or her mother's beautifully unique hands, which raises quite a few more questions we hope to have some answers about in time. Because of additional testing we've opted to pursue, it will likely be confirmed in the coming weeks if this was Alexander or Alexandra.

We've been learning and researching more about "Brachydactyly Type C", and what it could possibly mean when mom has these hands along with two miscarried babies after having four relatively normal kids.

But, while we wait for more on that, we remember and appreciate our short time with little baby Alex. We buried him today, next to his brother Gabriel. The incredible weather allowed us to linger a little longer in the "Garden of Angels" and brought us some different memories.

If that second picture in particular brought as many tears to you as it did me while creating this post, I apologize, I just had to include it, I warned you. Even though I was standing right there at the time, the, um, 'drama' of the moment didn't even hit me until I saw this picture tonight. ...here, let me hand you a kleenex.

Ball Pit

"A what?"
"A ball pit."
"What's that?"
"Well, a pit, that's full of balls."
So, goes the usual conversation when explaining to someone about the latest addition to our basement.

Old siding off grandpa's house: $0
Paint left by our house's previous owners: $0
Slide we've had for a few years: $0
Netting and tropical backdrop: party store - it wasn't free, but it wasn't that expensive either
Padded mats for the sides and floor: $0.65/sq. ft. (Sam's Club)
5,000 balls: Well, we only have 1,500 so far, so we're watching places like craigslist. If you have any you don't use that you'd like to contribute, send them our way.
Seeing the look on your son's face when he sees what you built in the basement while he was away at grandma's for a week: Pri... I'll never know - I missed it. We were going to show it to him after I got home from work and videotape his reaction. But, before I got home he went down there to get something and saw it. We tried to have him pretend he was seeing it for the first time, but it didn't really work. At least the kids have really been enjoying it. :)

Camping

Yes, we went camping with another family with young kids, for a total of 9 little ones. Isaac, who is turning 7 next month, was the oldest. It was quite the adventure and a lot of fun.

more random pictures

Noah and Lyda practice their balance.
Micah looks like he's ready to preach his first sermon.
Isaac, just before a recent violin concert.
Micah's first haircut (just a few weeks after Lydia's first haircut).
Lydia is now just tall enough to help out with the silverware.
We, somewhat spontaneously, went to the 49er Days parade to celebrate "Friendly Fridley."