It's A Boy!!

On July 13th we welcomed Andrew Edward into our family! He was born at 5:48am and weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 20 1/2 inches. We love him so much and can't wait to add some blue to our household of pink. God has been so good to us once again. We praise and worship Him for his kindness and this blessing of little Andrew! We don't deserve this life or any of our sweet kiddoes, but because God is overflowing with mercy for those who love him, we receive His grace and blessings.

Thank you Jesus, we are speechless before You.

18 Months Old!!

Katelyn: AKA: Katie, Sugar, KK, Baby-Kate, Katie-Cat, Katie-Pops

Sweet Katelyn is now a year and a half. She is now not just walking and climbing, but trying hard to run and keep up with her sisters. She has really started to say a lot of words recently too and has started to put two words together like "More Please" and "Hi Daddy!" She adores her big sisters and calls Sara "SAAAA", and Kalena "Na na." She has a lot of energy and is a very loud, vocal child, but has a sweet soft cuddly side too. Katelyn is our most cuddly baby, never missing a chance to snuggle her face into Justin and I. She will just sit motionless on my lap for what feels like hours. So often I think she is sleeping but she is wide awake, just snuggling.

Katelyn's favorite foods are fruit (of any kind) and meat (of any kind). She would also eat every bag and box of raisins in the entire house if I let her. She loves books and balls and running free outside. She also loves bath time and really anything that has to do with playing with water (occasionally this includes the toilet, which unfortunately I have to discipline her for).

It has been so fun to watch Katelyn in the last few months. She seems to understand more and more of what I say to her. She has started to understand the words obedience and patience, and it won't be long before she will start to be able to understand biblical concepts such as "selfless" and "peacemaker". I am so thankful for the Bible, and it's clear guide to parenting. Scripture gives me hope and peace when in the midst of these amazingly impressionable years of my children's lives. I think without God and His word to us, I would feel completely overwhelmed at the task of training my children's hearts. Instead I feel the opposite. Excitement... joy... eagerness... and confidence in Christ alone as I "train up my children in the way they should go."

Katelyn brings us more and more joy everyday. Her developing capability to show love to me by hugging my neck and repeating "Mamma" in an affectionate tone is something I will always cherish about her and her sweet, tender heart and are my favorite moments each day with her.

Kalena's Larvae!

I can't believe I am saying this... but the girls and I had been on edge every day last week... waiting for some larvae to come in the mail. Yes... it is ladybug larvae and it finally arrived this past weekend. It was really a huge deal in our household. Kalena and Sara have never been too entertained by the thought of a pet dog or cat... but for several months now Kalena has been begging me for a pet ladybug. When we saw the beloved "Ladybug Land" at Lakeshore, it was all she could do to contain herself. For months I had been telling her that she can't have a ladybug as a pet, and that God made them especially to live outdoors. I was wrong. We now have about 5 large, thriving ladybug larvae living in our Ladybug Land. They should be fully developed ladybugs in a few weeks. Kalena was so cute when they finally arrived... hyperventilating and dancing around the house. She even asked to sleep with them right beside her head (yes, they are still just ugly larvae) along with a flashlight to check on them.

Our four and a half year old Kalena has really made some educational strides this past week too! She has finally began to read, which has been so exciting and something she has looked forward to for the past year! It was an amazing moment when she first began to read her first words. Her face lit up and she gasped, and literally I saw the lights go on in her eyes...and something click in her little brain. It was a moment I will never forget. She was overjoyed, and so was I. We hugged and giggled for a while before we continued. It was so sweet. We are so excited for her to start Kingergarden this fall, and we know she will love school so much.

Kalena has been growing more and more in love with the coming baby. She is constantly wrapping herself around my belly, and trying to feel the baby move. She presses all over it to try to feel a foot or a hand and gets so excited when she feels a kick. She would love it if the baby was a girl, but I have finally convinced her that if it is a boy, she will still love him. She was not sure for a while if she could love a brother. She says she loves baby boys and grown up boys like daddy, but she doesn't like kid boys except for Judah Wenslawski and Luke Loving.

My favorite recent Kalena Quotes:
"Daddy, I love you all across the sky (waving hands in the air enthusiastically).... Daddy, I love you until my loves BOOMS into Heaven! (Jumps up excitedly)"

"Mommy, If I were as old as you, I would marry daddy."

"Mommy, you shouldn't have told me about Heaven because I am so sad that I can't just go there now." (puts her face in her hands dramatically)

"I hope I have 10 sisters." She tells the ultrasound technician.

(Kalena commenting about my very pregnant belly) "Mommy, it looks like you are going to need some more skin." (I quite agree with her :)

If the baby is a boy, Kalena wants to name him John or Thomas, and if it is a girl, she wants to name her Lemma.

I love Kalena so much, and I love watching her grow. More and more she has an awareness of sin and God's grace in our lives. I pray she will continue to develop a love for God and want to serve Him more and more!! I am desperately trying to think of new ways to help her and Sara fall more in love with our Heavenly Father. I am excited to read Elise Fitzpatrick's book "Give them Grace" this summer. I want my girls to become obedient for one reason... because they love our Savior and want to please Him alone... not for anyone or anything else this world has to offer.

Having said that... and on a lighter note... I just might bribe Kalena with some sort of material possession if she can hold back her hysterics when we go to get shots at the Dr. later this afternoon. :) No matter how much she wants to obey and have self control, she completely looses it and has a frantic breakdown in the Dr. office when the shots come out. I am praying this afternoon might be different!

Sweet Sisters

Bonded to a Baby

God has created, within a mother and a baby, an amazingly fierce bond that develops into feelings that are stronger than I have ever felt. Some would call this something like a "maternal instinct" but really it is an act of God, who pours into a mothers heart, an extreme love for her infant. Recently I have realized how this bond changes as our children get older. I know that I am in a unique time right now with my babies, and that later in life I will look back on and try to remember the feelings I had during the infancies of my precious girls. As my 4 year old Kalena becomes more independent and more intrigued by the world around her, I feel the mother baby bond slipping into a new developed mother child bond. While the feelings are no less intense, in fact probably are increasing in intensity, it is just different.

I am going to try to describe these intense, maternal, God given, feelings of love I have had with Kalena, Sara and now Katelyn. I always want to be able to look back on this special baby time and remember these amazing feelings.

When bonded to a baby, you feel as though every part of the baby is a part of you. They are more of an extension of your own appendages rather than a separate being. When she cries, something physical happens in my heart and mind, drawing me to her with an intense desire to sooth her. Holding her close to me never feels close enough, and if I could hold her all day long I would. When she smiles and giggles, my heart fills with joy. I would sacrifice anything to keep her safe, even my own life. I wouldn't think twice before running into a burning building or into any sort of harms way to protect my baby. I often imagine the fight I would put up if any stranger tried to pull her from my arms. It would be messy, like something out of WWF. Probably the most intense feelings I have for her, is at night when i watch her sleep. my heart aches for her future to be a worshiper of our Great God. I pray with fervency that the Lord will have mercy on her and draw her into repentance and salvation.

I am so thankful for the gift God has given me in these precious little girls and I wish I could freeze time and keep them cuddled in my arms forever.

Happy Birthday Sara Bear!!

Our sweet sunshine has turned three today!!!
I didn't expect to be sad last night as I tucked Sara into bed... but kissing my little 2 year old for the last time was overwhelming. I wish I could just freeze time and have my little two year old Sara forever. All day today her little face has been proudly beaming... and she has been letting everyone know that she is now three.
Sara is such a tremendously happy little girl who is our little sunshine. She is so easy going, compliant, and always seems to have a smile on her face from the moment she wakes up till she is asleep. She has a funny personality that always has us laughing, and a sweet cuddly side that loves to snuggle everyone. Her favorite color (since she could talk) is yellow, and she has 3 yellow dresses that she constantly wanting to wear. She is always singing, and has a beautiful voice. Her favorite thing to do is play with Kalena and Katelyn who she loves so much (strawberry shortcake, my little ponies, and princesses) For her birthday today she wanted to go to the park and she wanted a banana split. G-ma is here for a visit and we had a great day with her, as well as some time with Grammy and Kristen, and some phone time with all the other grandparents, aunts and uncles. We even got a call from Great Grammy, which was very special. Kalena gave Sara a little pink star necklace that she picked out especially for Sara. This is the first time either have given a gift to the other. It was a very sweet exchange. Sara was so excited and gave Kalena a big hug and a big kiss. I wish I had video taped it. It was so sweet. I love how much they love each other!!
We will miss our sweet little two year old, but I know that this next third year with Sara Bear will be full of fun and excitement. Sara is especially looking forward to being a Cubbie in Awana, and joining the children's choir at church. We love our little sweet Sara more than words and pray constantly that she will come to know and love Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Happy Birthday Sara!

God's Sovereignty Through the Eyes of a Four Year Old

Recently I have been working through concepts of God's sovereignty with Kalena. She is so sweet and curious, and wants to understand God and the Bible. I was pleasantly surprised when it seems my efforts to explain hard concepts have been sinking into her little heart. She was helping me with the dishes when one glass she was holding fell and shattered on the ground. I squelched my instinct to get upset (which was a blessing because expression of my frustration would have made the following conversation impossible). I calmly told her to stay on her stool and I will clean it all up. She then asked "Mommy, why do you think God had me break a glass?" Caught off guard... i pondered a while. "Im not sure." I answered. She then said "Maybe it is because we have too many glasses." It is true.. we do have too many glasses cluttering up our kitchen. We pondered other reasons God may have caused this.. then talked through Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." We discussed ways God could cause the broken glass to turn out for our good and God's glory if we love him. I just loved how her sweet little absorbent mind thought through this process.
My next quest is to tackle her recent question: "Mommy, God made us sinners, right?" ;) Should be a great time of learning and I am excited to see how her little mind continues to develop with Christ as the center of her life!