Both my sisters were in town this week until yesterday and so reality hit when Woody went to work this morning, and I was left alone with the girls. After a somewhat crazy morning, the Lord gently reminded me that His grace is sufficient as we sat down to have lunch and Arden said a blessing...
The Lord blessed our family with Chloe's arrival earlier this week! Woody and I went in for my weekly check up and Praise the Lord, I was 5 cm! We were elated and relieved to get to stay at the hospital after having a crazy weekend of contractions and being in the triage again with an infection. Thank you so much for all your prayers...everything went smoothly and she arrived safe and sound and beautiful...all 5 lbs. 14 oz. of her! She is a precious gift and is doing really well. We are so thankful she is here and a part of our family!
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17 
The girls got their first look at Chloe when we came out of the hospital and got in the car to go home...Arden was THRILLED to see her...it took Esther a little while to warm up...we pulled over in the parking lot and let them get out to get a better look and they've been in love ever since!
We found out on Tuesday at my check up that the hospital where I'll deliver Chloe is under a level 3 quarantine due to all the flu going around. Therefore they're not allowing children under the age of 5 into the hospital... which means that the girls will not be allowed to come see me or Chloe when she arrives! Of course I don't want to put the girls in danger of getting the flu or anything else for that matter, but I'm really sad that they won't be able to come and see us in the hospital. I feel like they'll understand things better for some reason if they can come and see Mommy in the hospital and meet Chloe there for the first time. As it looks right now that won't happen though. I know in the grand scheme of things and God's perfect plan that they'll be just fine meeting their new sister at home, but will you please pray that the transition will go well for them as Mommy will be gone for a couple of days, Daddy most of that time too and then low and behold we bring home a new baby!?
Our city is currently celebrating it's 444th birthday and we took time to join in on some of the festivities over the last few days. We went to a Native American pow wow and watched/learned about some tribal dances. Arden even joined in on a snake dance that the kids were invited to take part in...it cracks me up at how brave she is sometimes at getting up in front of people...don't know where that comes from! On Saturday morning we went to a reenactment of the first landing, which was held at the mission where the huge cross is (it was erected to commemorate the city's 400th anniversary of the landing.) The girls loved seeing all the people dressed in period costumes...Arden especially liked seeing the royal family and decided that she would like to dress up as well...maybe one day. Here are a few pics from our outings...
And on a different note, I'm now 38 weeks and counting and very thankful that the Lord has calmed my anxious heart. The feelings of being overwhelmed have subsided and now I'm just ready for her to get here!
Friday night some friends treated me to dinner and tea at a tea room to celebrate Chloe. It was such a fun and encouraging time to be with all of them (and without kiddos!). They each had written out prayers for Chloe and our family, which brought me to tears (of course) and really ministered to my heart. The Lord has been so gracious to surround me with these wonderful women in the almost 2 years we've lived here, and I am truly thankful for their sweet friendships.
Brittany and I had to get a belly shot since I won't have one for much longer...
I must confess that when I look at our blog and see the lilypie ticker to the right and how many days are left, I get a little overwhelmed... breathe in... breathe out. The days are flying by and before you know it we're going to have 3 girls, 3 and under. Don't get me wrong, I'm really excited to welcome Chloe into the world and hold her in my arms. I can't wait to see what she looks like, what her little personality will be, how the girls will respond to their new sister... We have come so far in this pregnancy... I'm so thankful the Lord has chosen to bless our family with another child... I'm just a little anxious! :)
And for all you mommies of 3 or more or even if you're not, but have some advice, I welcome any thoughts/advice to help me out especially in these first few weeks...lay it on me. :)
.jpg )
