Monday, August 31, 2009

already one week old...

one of my goals for today is to update my blog...it might take 5 minute snatches of typing here and there, but i am determined to make it happen--even if this is my first "official" day home alone with all of them. i say "official" because truly last week ended up looking a little different than we first anticipated, and i've already spent a few mornings home alone with all three girlies...and really, to be honest, my dear friend jill will be showing up at my house to help out and perhaps love on and snuggle with jillian for a bit during the big girls' naptime (just in case she isn't down with the "napping plan" at that point!) so i can hopefully catch a few winks myself. she is even bringing dinner...she's just incredibly sweet and generous like that. and, well, i am going to throw in a generous smattering of pictures throughout this post...just because i can...and because i'm just sure you are as interested in seeing our newest little eye candy as i am in showing her off. God sure is good...and she sure is beautiful...in our completely unbiased, humble opinions! :)
the labor and delivery...feel free to skip this paragraph if you feel so inclined...but i'll share because, well, so many of you have asked. i went into labor on my own (most likely with some help from our outing to the zoo the day before and some fun time chasing the girls while they rode bikes in the afternoon sunday) late sunday night/early monday morning. i am so thankful that the Lord gave us an absolutely gorgeous weekend full of family fun for the four of us before my labor began...a great way to cap off our time as four and usher us into becoming a family of five. some friends invited us over for pizza and hanging sunday evening...then we headed home, tucked the girlies in bed, and stayed up far later than i would've had i known ahead of time that i would end up laboring all night.

anyway...i started having contractions...laid in bed wondering if they were real...if i should wake mike...when i should call the doctor...realizing that it was REALLY real--we were going to have another baby...wondering boy or girl...and thinking, most of all, i should get a shower and wash and dry my hair...just in case! after my shower, i woke mike, called the doctor, and we headed to the hospital...with sweet jill meeting us there to whisk the girlies away for a slumber party. we got to the hospital around 3 a.m., and i was 6 cm. i opted for some nubane, and at that point thought "this isn't so bad...i think i can do without the epidural this time." he he! my water finally broke around 5:30...at which point i was 8 cm. and the doctor had arrived...unfortunately sweet baby was still REALLY high, and after my water broke the contractions were coming SUPER fast and far more intense. after talking to my OB and realizing there was no way of knowing how long it would take for my dialation to complete and baby to move down to "position"...as she was still around a +2 station (not to mention he was a bit concerned about her large size when it came to pushing!)...we opted for an epidural so i could hopefully get a bit of rest before needing to push. when i sat up so they could place the epidural my contraction and pain became SO much worse, and when i finally laid down, they realized that in that 10 or 15 minutes while i was getting the epidural the baby had moved down and was completely engaged and i was ready to PUSH--no wonder the pain was so unbearable! the epidural just barely took effect, and within two contractions worth and less than 5 minutes of pushing we met our beautiful little jillian claire!

jillian claire...a few of you have asked about the name...and i would LOVE to share. first and foremost, mike and i loved the name jillian. secondly, i happen to have a couple people who have been influential/special in my life who are named jill...and what better than to name our daughter after women we respect and admire...women she will actually have the opportunity to know in her lifetime. the first of these jills is jill p...a dear friend who i consider someone who greatly influenced my walk with Jesus. she was first my swim coach, second my "boss" when i lifeguarded and taught swimming lessons, but mostly, she was a friend who loved me, encouraged me, taught me, and modeled what it meant to follow Jesus and be his disciple. she is kind, generous, servant-hearted, humble, and full of life...all characteristics i would desire for my little jillian. and then, there is dear, dear friend jill...who you have heard me talk of before...jil and my friendship began with a conversation in my apartment kitchen and quickly grew to a deep, sisterhood type friendship. jill is the friend i can tell anything...the friend who is always there to listen, to help, to serve, to encourage, to challenge or "rebuke"...she is that friend...the one i know i can call on in a time of need. we are growing together in our walk with Christ...in our journey as mommies and as wives and as women. she is gentle and kind...she is loving...she is full of smiles and encouragement...she is giving and humble...again, she is someone who i pray my little jillian will see following Jesus and emulate.
as for the claire part of her name...well, that comes from my mom...claire. my mom is a woman who has weathered many a storms...health problems, life in general, raising her own two daughters (which is job enough in itself!)...and through it all she has grown and learned and persevered. i could go on and on...but honestly, i don't even know where to start and stop. through the years my mom and i have grown to be so much more than mother and daughter...she is my friend...one of my closest friends. becoming a mommy myself did something amazing to my relationship with my mom...it gave me understand and insight...it brought about a newfound respect and admiration. i will never forget my first days at home with elizabeth...the number of times i called her in emotional post-partum tears...the comfort that came from simply hearing her voice...and even now, baby #3...i've been there and done this...i have an almost 4 year old...and yet, i cannot wait until tomorrow afternoon when my mom arrives to spend the rest of the week with us...to love us, to take care of us, to spend time with us...to simply do what moms do best! and incidentally, it is also one of my favorite names...and we thought it sounded particularly well with jillian.
as for the big sisters...i think it was definitely love at first sight...they talked about "baby" (kate's preferred name for jillian...though she does try to say jillian...which is really cute!) or "jillian" endlessly according to those who stayed with them. on my first night at the hospital they called to tell me goodnight, and elizabeth's first question was, "how's our baby!?" ...but...in the hospital they were both very tentative about touching or holding jillian....i think they were a bit overwhelmed, and kate, well, she quite frankly just wanted ME!

but as you can see in the pictures, they are beyond in love with her. the minute we arrived home from the hospital kate came out to find her "baby"....and they quickly gathered around the carseat checking her out. kate's first words upon waking up are constantly, "where's baby?"...and she gets quite distraught when i put jillian upstairs or out of sight to nap. she loves to pat jillian on the head or try repeatedly to stick the paci in "baby's" mouth (she is utterly convinced that jillian shouldn't go a second without a mouthful of paci--and mommy is working hard to convince kate this just isn't the case!). and then there is elizabeth...to be honest, i think she is a bit distraught by the whole breastfeeding process...mostly because she really wants to give jillian a bottle. she loves to hold her and touch her smooth soft skin...and talk about her...and drag the carseat around the house with her curious george stuffed animal tucked safely in the straps (i mean really..isn't baby "paraphenalia" much of the fun of having a baby in the house!).
and as for jillian...well, we think she is an absolute beauty. she has a look all her own...and i think she looks much more like my baby pictures than either of the other girls. she has a smattering of dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, the sweetest little nose and dimpled in chin, and yummy little neck rolls (and really...neck rolls ARE yummy when you are a week old!). looking at elizabeth and kate's baby pictures she does resemble some aspects of elizabeth...much more so than she does kate...BUT she definitely has a look all her own. the minute people saw elizabeth, they said, "oh my...she looks just like mike"...and somehow while jillian has some of elizabeth's features, she is missing those distinct "mike traits" that were so obvious on libbers.
so far nursing seems to be going well; she is much more into it and eager to eat than her sisters were. and, oh my, this girlie knows how to sleep (PRAISE THE LORD!). last night, on her seventh night of life, she managed to pull a 4 1/2 hour stretch of sleeping...and would have kept right on snoozing if mommy hadn't woken her and needed her to eat for my sake! :) honestly, sleeping is definitely her favorite pastime thus far...she eats...she sleeps...and occasionally she poops...the typical baby things, but she most definitely sleeps far more than i remember kate and elizabeth sleeping as newborns. she sleeps fabulously in her crib, all swaddled like a jellybean (or a jillybean..he he!) or in her little papasan friend's lent us...or on our chests...or even on the floor on her little tummy...bottomline, this girlie LOVES her sleep.
this first week with as a family of five hasn't been without snags, tantrums, or postpartum tears (trust me...all of those have been there), BUT it has been full of God's grace. i have been so aware of His grace and His strength. i am thankful to be feeling much better emotionally at this point than i did after kate was born...but i have definitely had my moments. and...as most of you know, nursing was extremely stressful and full of trials with elizabeth and kate...lack of supply, lazy eaters, and LOADS of emotions for me...this time around, during pregnancy i prayed and prayed that the Lord would give me a clear head about nursing and lead us in what was best...nursing, formula, etc...that He would make it clear AND that it would not become an issue that was a stumbling block and stress to our marriage OR my mommy-hood. and so far, He has answered that prayer...i am not feeling anxious about her weight gain or stressed out about her eating or my supply. things seem to be going really well, and we will know more at her weight check friday...but for now i am simply thankful that God has answered my prayers and given me peace in this area!

as for the first sentence of the last paragraph....tantrums--we have had our share. while kate and elizabeth LOVE their baby sister, they have definitely had their moments. kate missed me...i mean, really missed me...while we were at the hospital. that coupled with working on her two year molars AND the vast changes that a new baby bring have led to her being quite the mess at times. and elizabeth...well, she is elizabeth...mostly happy go lucky, but prone to sin and selfishness and whining. BUT i must say, i find discipline, training, and mommy-hood in general is MUCH easier and i have MUCH more strength for the "ugh" moments with jillian outside of my tummy than i did when i was hugely pregnant and uncomfortable. and as for "snags"...last week definitely held the unexpected...mike's grandmother died the day after jillian was born, and that coupled with a huge new project starting at work, made for a busier and more hectic and emotional week than we had expected. we were sad to see his memaw pass, and yet we are thankful that she is no longer in pain...he and elizabeth were able to attend the funeral, and we got to spend some time extra time with his parents and brother, sister and brother-in-law since everyone was together for funeral stuff. while the circumstances were not ideal, it was nice to be able to introduce jillian to aunt kim and uncle dave now rather than waiting until thanksgiving.
this is getting QUITE long...thanks if you are still hanging with me! i have been blessed with the arrival of a few more little goodies from bloggy friends (you guys are so incredibly sweet....chelle and courtney your packages arrived safe and sound...sorry i am belated in letting you know!). i made a trip to jo-anns after church yesterday to get a few odds and ends to make some paci clips, a few new nursing bras, and a new nursing cover...and bought some fabric for swaddling blankets, which i promptly passed on to my "professional" seamstress, jill, for serging. we'll see how many months it takes to actually get to the projects...no, hopefully soon since i definitely could use them and they are short projects...maybe with my mom here i'll have a bit of time.
so my verdict...one week with three girls has actually had me contemplating on several occasions whether there might be room in our family for yet another...something i was quite convinced wasn't something i was interested in during the end of pregnancy! :) but that is a whole different subject for a whole different day...so don't get any ideas!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

...and baby makes FIVE!

as most of you know, we welcomed jillian claire to our family on monday morning, august 24, at 6:44. our precious girl weighed in at a healthy 9 lbs. 6 oz. and was 21 inches long! she is absolutely gorgeous, with a good amount of dark brown hair (much darker than her big sisters' hair), and so far she is a very laid back baby and we haven't heard much crying or complaint from her. she is eating well and becoming more and more aware with each passing hour... we came home from the hospital today around noon and have been enjoying our first day as a family of five. here are some pictures....(and less rambling from the elated but quite exhausted and discombobulated mommy!)...

with our fabulous OB just after delivery
a first photo of jillian
mommy and jillian

three generations...daddy, grandpa (mike's dad), and jillian
--mike's mom was also there to love on jillian...however our camera didn't like the window behind her, so all those pictures are blurry :(

kate shares kisses with jillian...elizabeth is also completely infatuated, although she hasn't yet braved holding her sister...in fact, she is a bit obsessed with and thrilled by the "ickiness" of jillian's belly button! the girls barely slowed down enough for any pictures while visiting us at the hospital...they did, however, talk NON-STOP about their baby sister to anyone who would listen...and sported some really cute "big sister" shirts their grandma and grandpa found for them

poppy, grandmommy, and their THREE grand-daughters...poppy and grandmommy came down to spend monday night and tuesday with elizabeth and kate while daddy and mommy hung at the hospital. THANKS! :) they also drew a wonderful chalk mural on the driveway to welcome their baby sister home...and had LOTS of other fun as well...i think the girls probably wore gradmommy and poppy out!

up close and personal with jillian...check our her sweet chubby cheeks and the yummy rolls on her arms...i guess this gives you a decent glance of her dark hair as well

you've gotta love the "angelic" little pose....

a better view of her hair

...just can't get enough of this sleepy girl...

wide awake and alert...i think this is my favorite picture so far

i have much more to share...about her name...about our delivery...about what these first few days have looked and felt like as a mommy to three girls....about how overwhelmed i am by God's goodness...and on and on...but for now i will simply let you enjoy the pictures, because a certain "little" lady is starting to stir and sure to be hungry and in need of mommy.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

...and then there were pictures...

so...here they are...some pictures. mike's monthly gideon's meeting (yes...he is pretty much two generations younger than 95% of the other members! :)) was a family picnic in the park tonight. we chopped up our fresh from the farm stand watermelon, packed up the girls, and headed out for an evening of fun.

these first two are actually from our evening at the park last friday...
daddy and his girlies...

kater gator LOVED the slides

...and the rest are from our evening tonight...
this was a fabulous park, and though it was a bit of a drive, it was so kid friendly and had great playground equipment, walking trails, etc. we will d
efinitely head back sometime!

believe it or not, our typically timid elizabeth made an immediate bee-line for the tallest, twistiest slide...and LOVED it! she never ceases to amaze me. i should also mention that she talked the ears off of anyone at the picnic who was willing to listen...and when i say talked their ears off, i mean, seriously...the girl barely left a silent moment!
and then, there is kate...always fearless...making her way straight up the climbing wall without any hesitation...
...and proceeding straight across this "bottomless" bridge...

...in hot pursuit of sissy, who was a few yards ahead...
and...of course...there was great fun to be had on the slides...this might be one of my favorite pictures...just wish i'd have had my real camera instead of just the camera phone...
this one just might be one of my favorite pictures of all times...sisters loving and laughing together!

ten smile tuesday

another tuesday...another week of smiles. i don't have many pictures from this past week...the camera has been mostly tucked away in a bag, awaiting a trip to the hospital (because otherwise i'm sure to forget it in our haste to figure out where we are dropping the girls and get out the door when the time comes!). i'm still pregnant...although most likely we don't have more than another week left. at our appointment this morning our doctor said he would see me back in one week, and then, as long as the baby was "in position" he would be ready to induce anytime so the baby doesn't just keep getting bigger and bigger on top of the already 9+ lbs. it could very well be. as for me...well, i am praying for a content and patient heart as i wait...a heart that is joyful and finds delight in these last few days as a mommy to two and family of four....rather than being a tired and irritable mama in waiting (...and to be honest...that is where i have been living WAY too much lately!). but...here are a few little smiles from our past week...and i emphasive "little" in many respects...i find these days it is all about taking joy in the everyday moments, because lets be honest...its not like we're out and about doing "big" things all that often!

1. successfully navigating the grocery without any tears or complaining from either of the girls! and, really, this is a big smile...especially since i haven't groceried with both girls by myself for quite awhile...even better that we've been really enjoying snyder's butter snap pretzels that were on a super good sale...and well, they just taste good! (and, no laughing, but yes, the sale was so good that i just might have bought like 8 bags!...oh, and i also scored 5 big ol' boxes of rice krispies for just $1 thanks to great coupons combined with a great sale!)

2. the tasty rice krispie treats we enjoyed for dessert last night...ooey, gooey goodness!

3. finishing the nursery...you can catch a glimpse here if you haven't already

4. a date night with my dearest hubby...yummy mexican food at abuelo's, time to simply run a few errands and enjoy chatting sans the interruption of sweet but insistent little voices, and perhaps some frozen custard afterward (not that we really needed it after our dinners...but hey, it might have been our last alone date for awhile!)

5. dinner with my favorite man and my favorite two little ladies at one of our favorite little restaurants on friday night...and then a fun evening at the park's playground...i do have a few pics from this...but i'm a little unmotivated to walk downstairs and get my phone...and upload them...so perhaps i will add them later. just imagine pics of a certain two girls smiling at the bottom of curly Q slides...a good looking daddy swinging those same girlies on a tire swing...and on and on. it was HOT outside...so a certain prego mama might have spent most of her time simply sitting on a park bench and savoring the sight and sound of that daddy and those girls playing...

6. being surprised by the arrival of several sweet little packages in the mail...gifts for baby from a few certain bloggity friends...incredibly cute, incredibly sweet, incredibly encouraging...and yes, i will eventually share some pictures...

7. slow but sure progress in cleaning and organizing...one room, one task, one day at a time...i'm really looking forward to seeing the trash hauled away tomorow morning...and getting some things dropped off for donation...there is something SO refreshing about getting rid of things!

8. the incredible kindness of a sweet friend who has dropped off multiple loads of hand-me-down clothes for the girls....thanks mel! i had quite a few things for elizabeth from the kohl's 80%-90% off clearance racks last year, and with what we've received i think her entire wardrobe is rounded out...so nice to know i don't need to think about shopping in the midst of all the other "going ons" that are coming up!

9. a refreshing night of prayer and fellowship at our church's monthly fresh encounter prayer service...worship, prayer, and a cook-"in" afterwards (and the "in" part of what was supposed to be a cook-out was a huge blessing since its finally gotten hot and humid like a typical indiana august!)

10. enjoying some fellowship with our small group from church...love the chaos of our meetings...little ones running every which way (at this meeting we had 10 kiddos...9 of them 5 and under! and 7 adults....so, yes, chaos...but in a good way!).

11. as a bonus...how incredibly sweet that one of those gals from our flock group (who happens to have 4 kiddos of her own, including a 3 month old) brought us dinner one day last week after hearing i was feeling exhausted from a cold....very tasty wraps and pasta salad. thanks laura! i am absolutely humbled by the kindness of all of our friends...like my sweet friend, jill, who has been watching my girls on tuesday mornings so i can go to OB appointments without "extras"....we are so blessed by our "family" away from family....

Saturday, August 15, 2009

now all we need is the baby...

i finally finished up the straightening, organizing, and arranging in the nursery (well...finished is a relative term...i still have a few things i want mike to hang for me)...so i can officially say the nursery is ready for a baby! now if only the rest of the house would magically become (and stay) organized and tidy (i feel like i make GREAT progress in one area or room just to find the other areas are disasterfied again....oh well!).

here's the nursery....

the dresser (a hand-me-down from mike's fam) and boston rocker (a hand-me-down from my fam) that we repainted...the color is "paris mint"...a very subtle green...you may be able to see it more clearly if you enlarge the pic...

the finished baby blanket...this was my first attempt at something that had to be whip-stitched together, and honestly, the whip-stitching was far more frustrating than i imagined...but i gave up on perfectionism and at least finished it...as mike reminded me, the baby is not going to care if it isn't perfect! :)

the crib...obviously...

this shelf...another hand-me-down from my parents...this shelf has made the rounds! i believe (correct me if i'm wrong mom) that my grandpa built it for my mom's room when she was a little girl...and i KNOW it was in my room when i was a little girl...and it was in the nursery for both elizabeth and kate as well...

i'm really happy with the way everything turned out...the room is nice and bright with the yellow walls...and i'm loving the combo of all the hand-me-down pieces of furniture...just can't wait to be snuggling the baby against my chest in the rocking chair...hopefully soon, soon, soon!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

ten eleven smile tuesday

its definitely been an eventful week at our house....mostly for the newly two year old member of the family...events like gashed foreheads, stitches, birthdays, birthday parties...the lows and the highs! we've had plenty of smiles though...so here goes!

1. stitches in...but mostly, stitches out successfully...and without any tears for shots OR stitch removal. honestly, she was such a trooper throughout the whole ordeal...and i was amazed that she wasn't the least bit reluctant when we arrived at the pedi monday morning for her 2 year well check and shots and the big stitch removal.

2. coloring fun...we hadn't pulled out the markers in quite sometime...so they were quite the hit! (and, quite frankly, it was a welcome relief from the craziness of stitches the day before!)




3. celebrating kate's big day! God provided a fabulously sunny (and hot!) day...delightful friends and family...and lots of fun!

kate's duckie cake

pool time fun!

a blue faced, cake lovin' birthday girl!

4. princess potato-beth...the diva...seriously, kate received some plastic jewelry as a present, and elizabeth has been beyond obsessed with sporting necklaces and bracelets the past few days...she is being FAR more girly than i've ever before witnessed with her!


5. the simple joy of a box (i think this was a smile last week too!--but a different, bigger box this time around!)


6. ...oh, and, of course, the fabulous new kitchen that came in the aforementioned box! thanks grandmommy, poppy, and GG!


7. spending time with family...grandmommy, poppy, and GG were able to join us for the party saturday, and then we had another fabulous celebration with mike's family on sunday afternoon...


8. play-doh tools...okay, laugh at me if you want...we've had play-doh just never the actual play-doh tools. kate received a duffel of tools for her birthday, and oh my, i've decided play-doh is actually FUN and not just a huge mess! seriously, the girls spent over an hour creating and smooshing and rolling and giggling...while daddy and i helped out and enjoyed the moments, of course!

again...check out "girlie" libs with the bracelet and necklace

rollin' out the doh...

9. starting to feel better from another icky pregnant, summer cold...but even more so, the loving hubby who brought dinner home with him monday night so i could rest....AND the wonderful friends who delivered dinner to our door tonight...we are SO blessed!

10. a magnificent trip to a sprinkler/spray park this morning with jill and brennan....it took her a few minutes of warming up, but elizabeth had an absolute BLAST, ending up completely soaked...she was running around, splashing, sticking her head in the spray, and just plain having the best time ever. it delighted my heart to see her pleasure...made me think of how God delights in our joy...good stuff!


11. ...and finally...one last "bonus" smile...getting the chance to see the baby during our ultrasound today...seeing the heart beating away, watching the baby "practice" breathing...standing in awe of the life God is knitting together within my womb. it is beyond amazing. that said, we apparently have a rather "large" baby...in fact, at this point (just shy of 37 weeks) the measurements are showing the baby to be around 9 lbs. right now....OH MY! so, we might just be meeting this baby sooner rather than later...and in the meantime, our prayer is definitely that God would bring labor on its own without needing induction...but also praying for wisdom to know if and when inducing is the right decision. we'll have more of a conversation and perhaps make some decisions at our appointment next week. until then, we definitely appreciate your prayers!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

i think i'll move to australia..

okay...finished blogging my smiles and posted those at noon....ate a quick lunch...took a deep breath and thought, only a little while until naptime, i can do it.....and then the day really started...

around 12:30 this afternoon kate managed to have a nasty run-in with the corner of the door frame. a run-in that caused a nice gash and lots of bleeding from her forehead...and one freaked out mama, not sure just how deep or bad it was. i couldn't get reach daddy via phone...so, of course, i did the next rational thing and called my dear sweet friend jill, who also happens to be a pediatric nurse (because really, why would i rush to the idea of calling my pediatrician too quickly...that would just make sense, right!?). the incredibly loving and sweet jill immediately packed up her little guy and headed to my house...both to give her assessment of the gash and to stay with elizabeth should i need to head to the pediatrician or ER for stitches. while we waited for jill to swoop in an save the day, my mom just happened to call (and get a tearful earful from me...)...and my sister (who mostly got to hear kate crying like crazy...since by that point my tears were done)...and finally mike called back (and was fortunate enough to talk to a more rational and calm mama. :)

anyway...jill's recommendation was to call the pediatrician...and the pediatrician's recommendation was 3 stitches to close up what was a nice deep gash a little over 1/4 inch long. after the uber-traumatizing shot to numb the wound and the slightly less (but still a wee bit) traumatizing stitches (and i will report that even the super-prego, slightly highly emotional, hormonal mama managed to hold it together and not faint, vomit, or cry while restraining her) kate is now sporting three fresh stitches on her forehead. other than the actual numbing and stitching part kate walked around the exam room and doctor's office with a HUGE grin for all the nurses and the doctor...as if she really was quite proud of her little war wound. and she was definitely quite thrilled by the strawberry dum-dum she received at the end of the ordeal.

i've had several friends jokingly predict that kate would wind up with stitches before her second birthday...and i suppose she managed to prove them right...and with just hours to spare since tomorrow is the "big day". to be honest, i'm not that surprised to have kate end up with stitches...she is quite fearless...i just assumed her stitches might come from something a bit more daring or remarkable than bashing into a door frame. so here's her new look...just in time to be captured in her 2nd birthday photos and remembered for all time....


up close-ish...for those who are into that kind of thing....

she is doing well....but not really into the idea of giving up her "comfort" thumb at the moment

and just to show how "cruel" i am...i was just trying to get her to crack that big ol' grin she was sporting at the doctor's office...clearly she wasn't into the idea!

after a wee bit of a nap for kate...and some down-time for me...we're all ready for daddy to arrive home with a pizza for dinner (and maybe some fresh energy). i am counting the blessings in what was a LONG (and at times terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day)...like a friend who is there at a moment's notice (and even finishes working on the onion chopping and ground beef browning i was working on before the "incident")...the fact that the doctor did the stitches at her office, sparing us a trip to the ER....that my first child getting stitches experience was with kate (who is quite hardy and resilient) as opposed to the more squeamish libbers....and, most of all, of course, that God's grace is sufficient...and He knows what we need and what we will face before we ever need or face it. if you had told me this morning that my day would turn out as it did, i might have simply crumbled...i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how His grace is there when we need it...not before...but just in time. it is simply amazing...and humbling...and gracious...and good. and now, Lord, just one little request...perhaps an uneventful evening...and perhaps a relatively calm thursday...just maybe! :)

....but until then i think i'll stick with good ol' indiana....because my mom says some days are like this...."even in australia"! :)